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Grand Duchy of Flandrensis

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The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis (Dutch: Groothertogdom Flandrensis) is a micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica, which was founded in 2008 by the Belgian Niels Vermeersch. Flandrensis is not recognised by any country or government,[1][2][3][4] nor is it their intention to get diplomatic recognition.[5][6] Since 2021 the micronation is registered in Belgium as the environmental non-profit organization “vzw Groothertogdom Flandrensis”.[7]

Grand Duchy of Flandrensis
Unrecognized micronation
Claimed byNiels Vermeersch
Date claimed4 September 2008
Area claimedMarie Byrd Land

History

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The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis was founded on September 4, 2008 as a temporary hobby for two weeks.[8] The micronation is inspired by the medieval County of Flanders (Pagus Flandrensis).[1][2] Flandrensis was regarded by the founder first as a hobby-micronation, and later as an ecological venture, to raise awareness of ice melting and climate change.[9][10][11] Since 2021 the micronation is also an environmental non-profit organization.[7]

The micronation has its own identity cards, currency, heraldry, newspaper, constitution, and national anthem.

Until 2014, Flandrensis was partly a political simulation, with political parties[12][13] and organised yearly elections. Professor Alastair Bonnett of the University of Newcastle described Flandrensis as an example of a micronation that is inspired by a city council in which young people learn to make decisions.[14]

In 2021 the micronation was composed of 741 citizens from 71 different nationalities.[15] Outside of the internet, the activities of Flandrensians were restricted to the region around Roeselare,[1][2] but the official embassy is now located in the West-Flemish town Sint-Juliaan.[15][12][16][17]

Flandrensis was represented at several international conferences on micronations, such as Polination London (2012) and Perugia (2015), and the MicroCon conventions in Atlanta (2017) and Las Vegas (2022).[5][18][19][20] In August 2023 Flandrensis hosted the first European edition of MicroCon in Ypres along with the Royal Republic of Ladonia.[21][22]

In May 2022 the founder was invited as a speaker at ChangeNow, an international climate summit in Paris to talk about Flandrensis and environmental micronationalism.[23]

Territory

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Flandrensis is regarded by the founder as an ecological venture, to raise awareness of ice melting, hereby Niels Vermeersch was one of the first who introduced the concept of environmental micronationalism.[5][9] Flandrensis has no intentions to visit their claimed territories.[12][1][2][24][6] Flandrensis claims five islands off the coasts of West Antarctica: Siple Island, Cherry Island, Maher Island, Pranke Island, and Carney Island.

Non profit organization

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On August 12, 2021, Flandrensis was registered in the Belgian Official Journal as “vzw Groothertogdom Flandrensis”. In the published bylaws Flandrensis describes itself as an environmental non-profit organization that focuses on climate change and Antarctica, using the concept of micronationalism to draw attention to the climate in a creative way.[7] Some of their projects are climate letters and clean-up actions.[15] The Grand Duchy of Flandrensis is among 1000+ non-governmental organizations that have received United Nations Environment Programme accreditation.[25]

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    Flag of Flandrensis
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    Niels Vermeersch
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    Signing of a treaty between Flandrensis and the Republic of St. Charlie at Polination (2012)[1][2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e (in Dutch) VANSTEENKISTE, A., "Hoogledenaar is Groothertog van micronatie Flandrensis", Het Nieuwsblad, 13 September 2012, page 22-22
  2. ^ a b c d e (in Dutch) VERHAEGHE, H., Middagpost West-Vlaanderen Archived 2012-12-03 at the Wayback Machine, Radio 2, 13 September 2012 (interview with Niels Vermeersch)
  3. ^ (in French) BELENFANT, M., Sa Majesté le Grand-Duc de Flandrensis brise la glace, 'Le Jeu de l'Oie: La Revue Internationale de Sciences – Po Lille', April 2014, page 30-31
  4. ^ The Telegraph, Ten bizarre micronations, 14 May 2014
  5. ^ a b c The Brussels Times, Springtime of micronations spearheaded by Belgian "Grand-Duke" Niels, 8 December 2015
  6. ^ a b Hobbs, Harry; Williams, George (2022). Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty. Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-15012-5.
  7. ^ a b c , Registration non-profit vzw Groothertogdom Flandrensis, Kruispuntbank Ondernemingen, 12 August 2021
  8. ^ (in French) Oeuillet, J., Le business des vanités : enquête sur les arnaques à la noblesse, Ed. du Moment, 16 April 2015, pages 207, ISBN 978-2-35417-370-8
  9. ^ a b (in Dutch) STROCHLIC, N., Ieder zijn eigen koninkrijk, National Geographic, April 2016, page 8-9
  10. ^ (in Polish) BARTKIEWICZ, A., Jak zostać królem, RZECZPOSPOLITA (Minus Plus), 20 July 2017, page 10-12
  11. ^ BEANLAND, C., King of your castle, Open Skies, Emirates Printing Press, 01 May 2019, page 49-50
  12. ^ a b c (in Dutch) GHEERAERT, T., Diplomatieke rel om een deel van Antarctica, Het Wekelijks Nieuws, 05 September 2013, page 10-11
  13. ^ (in Dutch) GHEERAERT, T., Verkiezingen in Flandrensis, Het Wekelijks Nieuws, 17 October 2014, page 62
  14. ^ (in Russian) APPARAT, 5 steps to create your own micronations Archived 2015-01-22 at the Wayback Machine, December 2014
  15. ^ a b c BAUDET, M., Voyage dans les micronations, ces pays de fantaisie qui réinventent la démocratie, Le Monde, 16 August 2021
  16. ^ (in French) MAZARS, P., “Micronations: la tournée du grand-duc", Le Journal du Dimanche, 28 July 2014
  17. ^ (in Dutch) CORNILLIE, B., “Niels, groothertog van Flandrensis, Het Laatste Nieuws, 29 August 2014, page 20
  18. ^ THE TELEGRAPH, T. Coote, Inside the weird world of the micronation, 14 July 2015
  19. ^ (in French) BONZOM, N., « Le sommet francophone des micronations, entre folkore et engagement citoyen », 20 minutes, 26 September 2016,
  20. ^ (in French) PLACER, A., Sommet de micronations sur le pavé: folklorique et citoyen, La Voix du Nord, 21 January 2018
  21. ^ MicroCon 2023 – official website. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  22. ^ (in Dutch) GHEERAERT, T., “(Belgium) GHEERAERT, T., "Groothertog van Flandrensis organiseert conventie in Ieper", Het Wekelijks Nieuws, 04 August 2023, page 26
  23. ^ ChangeNow – official website. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  24. ^ (in French) PRUDENT, R., Envie d’être chef ? Toi aussi, crée ta micronation en dix leçons , ‘Rue 89', 12 June 2014
  25. ^ "List of accredited organizations". UNEP. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
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